Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images], set to step down as army chief on Wednesday after holding the post for over nine years, began a round of farewell visits to various military headquarters on Tuesday.

In line with the tradition of making ceremonial farewell calls, Musharraf will visit key military bases and facilities before he doffs his uniform and takes oath as a civilian for a second five-year presidential term on Thursday.

The former commando grabbed power by deposing the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999. Incidentally, he was appointed as army chief on October 7, 1998 by Sharif, who promoted him over several other senior officers.

The two men soon fell out over differences on various issues, including the incursion into Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir [Images], which was planned and executed by Musharraf.

General Musharraf, 64, is the longest serving army chief in Pakistan after late General Zia-ul-Haq. He will hand over charge to General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani on Wednesday at a ceremony at the army's General Headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Kiyani, a former Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief, was appointed vice chief of the army last month by Musharraf.

The military ruler began his farewell calls with a visit to the Joint Staff Headquarters at Chaklala in Rawalpindi. He was presented a guard of honour and he also met the directors general of the Joint Staff Headquarters.

Musharraf then met General Tariq Majid, the officer he appointed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee last month, and discussed military matters. He also went to the naval and air force headquarters in Islamabad and thanked the chiefs of the two services for their support.

The defence ministry is expected to formally notify Musharraf's retirement as army chief only after he is sworn in as a civilian president by Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on Thursday.

During recent interactions with the press, Musharraf has asserted that he has the complete support of the powerful 5,00,000-strong army and that the military would continue to back him even after he took off his uniform.

Even after he quits, Musharraf's security will remain with the army. A contingent of the elite Special Service Group has been assigned to guard him and Musharraf will also retain his military staff as a civilian president.

Through recent appointments, Musharraf has also ensured that officers who are loyal to him will be in key positions in the army during his second presidential term. Kiyani was set to retire this year but will now be the army chief for at least the first three years of Musharraf's second term as president.

As President, Musharraf will also remain supreme commander of the armed forces and have the power to sack civilian governments.

There has been intense pressure on Musharraf from the international community to take off his uniform but his decision to quit as army chief may not be enough to placate Pakistani opposition leaders like former premier Nawaz Sharif, who vowed to end dictatorship after his return from seven years in exile.

The Supreme Court, comprising Musharraf's hand-picked judges, last week validated his victory in the October 6 presidential poll after dismissing legal challenges to his candidature. This cleared the way for him to be sworn in for a second presidential term.